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Nick Saban comments on Bill Belichick’s potential transition to college football
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Nick Saban appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday afternoon and discussed how the legendary Bill Belichick may fare if he decides to take a college head coaching job.
Belichick has been linked to the vacancy at North Carolina, with multiple reports suggesting he has already interviewed for the job. Belichick, widely considered to be the best coach in NFL history, has never coached at the collegiate level.
He does have history with Saban, however. The 2 overlapped in the early 1990’s when Saban was Belichick’s defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
“Bill is an outstanding coach,” Saban said. “He’s very well-organized. He’s a good teacher. I think he relates well with the players. So I think he would do a great job in college.”
Saban also acknowledged that recruiting wouldn’t be as difficult for someone like Belichick — who has never coached at the collegiate level before — because college football programs are now permitted to pay players.
“The only thing that would be different is recruiting,” Saban said. “But as you say, relationship-building is not as important — not that Bill wouldn’t be good at that — now that you pay players. I think it becomes a little bit more about the money and the deal that you make with them. So it is a little bit more like pro football.
“And I think Bill knows how to manage that and would do a good job.”
Here’s video of Saban’s comments on his old colleague’s potential transition to the collegiate level:
"Bill Belichick is an outstanding coach and I think that he would do a great job in College..
College Football is a lot more like the NFL now as well" ~ Coach Saban #PMSLice pic.twitter.com/DnlQDgHED3
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 6, 2024
While it’s far from a foregone conclusion that Belichick will get the job in Chapel Hill, he and the university do seem to have made progress in negotiations. According to a report, North Carolina is “open” to the idea of naming his son, Stephen Belichick, as the program’s coach-in-waiting should Bill get the job.
There is no timetable for North Carolina to make a final decision on its head coaching vacancy.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
